Cleveland Browns: 10 Pittsburgh Steelers we love to hate
10. Terry Bradshaw messed up Cleveland Browns more than you know
Your humble correspondent is old enough to remember when the Steelers were terrible year after year. Jim Brown, Ernie Green, Leroy Kelly, and those guys used to just steamroll them and there was nothing they could do about it.
The 1970 draft was a turning point for both Cleveland and Pittsburgh. The Steelers because they drafted Terry Bradshaw. Youngsters know him as the witty ancient host of the NFL pregame and halftime shows. Back in 1970, however, he was a tall, handsome blond-haired cowboy from Louisiana Tech who was also a part-time country-western singer and was certain to be Pittsburgh’s answer to Joe Namath.
But Art Modell was left out of the party, and he couldn’t stand it. Broadway Joe had electrified the NFL with his movie-star good looks and rocket arm and had transformed the Super Bowl from an exhibition game to the premier event in sports. TV revenues were skyrocketing. But Cleveland had tactician Bill Nelson as its quarterback and Modell wanted another Namath, like his rival Art Rooney, Sr. over in Pittsburgh — and was going to get. Thus he embarked on a series of what he thought were genius moves.
Future Hall of Famer Paul Warfield was traded to Miami for the third overall pick for strong-armed Mike Phipps, Modell’s answer to Bradshaw! Cleveland’s Namath!
Future All-Pro running back Ron Johnson was traded for washed-up receiver Homer Jones, who would catch 10 passes for the rest of his NFL career (we’re not making this up). Star defensive tackle Jim Kanicki, who would later be lauded as one of the top 100 Cleveland Browns of all time, was included in the same deal.
To be clear, the Browns gave him up, along with Ron Johnson. They didn’t receive him as compensation. That is also hard to believe but true.
Thus, it was bad enough that the Steelers were able to draft Bradshaw, but then Modell’s jealousy caused him to give away a Hall of Famer, an All-Pro, and a valued starter in order to compensate for his inadequacy. That dealt the team a blow that they could not recover from. Phipps, sadly, was ultimately a good quarterback which he proved when he was traded to Chicago, but not a star.
Flash forward two years to the Dolphins 1972 perfect 17-0 season when they played the Browns in the playoffs. The game was not decided till the final minute. Paul Warfield of the Dolphins was the star of the game, and Mike Phipps threw five interceptions. You may draw your own conclusions about the impact of Modell’s trades on the outcome of that game and on NFL history.
Bradshaw, of course, would lead the Steelers to four Super Bowls. I remember him for his toughness first of all. That used to work against him early in his career because he would try to do too much himself and take off running rather than be patient and work through his progressions.
One time Joe Jones smashed him down on his head and almost killed him. That was frightening, but it was probably because Bradshaw was so tough to put down, rather than any deliberate attempt by Jones to injure him.
Bradshaw also had an arm that rivaled Namath’s in terms of strength. Plus, he was very smart, but his outgoing country boy personality worked against him, as many Pittsburghers (including coach Chuck Noll) were slow to warm up to his Louisiana style. That part was totally unfair. Eventually, they figured out what he was made of, though. He was as tough as they come when the going got tough.
He tortured the Browns. Once the Steeler dynasty got going, Bradshaw’s teams dominated. Bradshaw was 17-5-0 versus Cleveland in his career. When he retired, it should have been a state holiday in Ohio.
Good riddance! Outside of Otto Graham, Bradshaw was the most accomplished quarterback up to that time with four Super Bowl rings. Most writers liked Roger the Dodger Staubach a little better, but Bradshaw was as tough as nails, much like Ben Roethlisberger is today. Versus the Browns, he was the toughest quarterback that they ever had to face up to that time.